A simple, inexpensive and practical gift for that person who has everything is this DIY Photo Tote.

As we head into Thanksgiving I will be seeing my Aunt who just turned 60 and is wheelchair bound. As a matter of fact, this picture is one of the handful of times she actually stood in her entire life. Since we have filled her assisted living facility room with pictures and canvases over the years, I though this would be a great gift. I’m not even sure if she has ever seen this picture as I scanned it from my fathers pile of old photos. This project is great for everyone from grandparents to school aged kids but in my case it is PERFECT so that my Aunt Janice can hang this from her wheelchair and remember this happy moment!

Step 1: Find the perfect image on your computer. Place transfer paper so that the image prints on the white side. Lesley Riley makes it easy and keeps the iron side purple! If you are using a picture that has writing, you will need to reverse the picture before printing. Print picture.

Step 2: Place the image on the item. With an iron on a HOT setting, iron transfer paper purple side up onto item. You will have to go over the paper many times with pressure. In this project I used a rough texture bag which required more heat and more pressure. This is not the PERFECT material for this project, a cotton bag would definitely transfer the photo much better. I however love all things old and rustic looking!

Step 3: When you feel the paper is ready, peel an edge. If the image has not “taken” you may want to iron a bit more, depends on the look you are going for! You need to pull the paper up while it is still HOT, use tweezers if necessary. As you can see in the picture below, I left ALOT of ink on my transfer paper due to the texture of the tote~ consider a cotton material if this is not acceptable to you.

Step 4: You are done! How easy was that!!! You can flip the item over and add another picture or pictures. The best thing about this project is that the totes were (3) for $8.99 minus a Hobby Lobby Coupon and a small expense for the transfer paper (I buy in bulk). This entire project/gift costs me maybe $2.50 after using my HL Coupon. I am SURE she will love it and cherish it for years to come! Lesley Riley suggests turning any items inside out to wash and to make sure you use plenty of heat while iron transfer so the garment/item is nice and set! Lesley Riley also has FABULOUS tutorials on you tube~ LOTS of possibilities!!

These cinnamon and applesauce ornaments are my absolute favorite ornaments to make. When I was a teacher, we made these every year. The dough is foolproof and smells amazing! I have some that are almost 10 years old that still smell delicious. This recipe was given to me by a fellow teacher after I made a batch that completely crumbled. The secret to these is the glue – it makes them very durable. I enjoyed making these with my own children this year and I hope these may become one of your holiday traditions too.

Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments

2 1/2 cups of cinnamon (dollar stores are a great place to find this)

1/2 cup applesauce

1 cup of white school glue

glitter (optional)

Mix all your ingredients together until they form a ball. I like to sprinkle in some glitter with the rest of the ingredients so that the finished ornaments have sparkle, but this is completely optional. The dough should not be sticky but not too dry either. Cover the dough with a damp cloth for an hour. Knead the dough for several minutes. Roll out the dough. You don’t want to roll it too thin because your ornaments will curl up a bit if they are too thin. Let air dry. The dough will take several days to completely dry. I flip the ornaments over once a day to help speed the drying process. Once they are dry you can decorate however you’d like or leave plain.

I made these into gift tags that double as an ornament. In the past, I’ve used puff paint to decorate them and this year I used a gold Sharpie to write on them. I think the dough would also work great to make a lasting gingerbread house. I plan to try that soon.

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Craft By my Sister Andrea:

The baby Jesus ornament was something I wanted to make with my kids (3 years old) this year because they are getting at the age of more understanding as well as craft abilities. I have seen people use almost anything as a baby from felt to wooden balls. I wanted to make something so I used plane white modeling clay which I already had. You can use polymer clay or any clay that you can bake to preserve. You can even use a recipe for salt dough. Once the baby was baked I added a bit of watered down paint for cheeks and hair and eyes.

I did not spend much on this craft. I found some old blue blankets that we used on the boys when they were newborns and I just cut it up and hot glued it around the baby. As far as a basket or crib I used what I could find. I found a set of 6 tiny wreaths for around $2 at a craft store. There are tiny cardboard boxes in various shapes for $.99 in which I used the bottom and the lid for two ornaments.

I had run out and needed one more Baby basket and went looking through my house. I found a shell that just so happened to have tiny holes in it that I was able to put the baby in and use wire to hang it. I had some leftover ribbon saved from gifts and decoration from previous years and I used that to hang them on the tree.

They can be made with yarn or ripped up cloth or shredded wood found in the artificial plant section of the craft store. I have to say my kids really liked playing with the baby Jesus and painting stars to glue on the ribbon. They were very interested and it was a great teaching tool. Hopefully these ornaments with last to give them when they have their own tree.

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Submitted by Andrea:

This is a classic and so very simple for the little ones, so we had to make a paper chain. I found a great deal on Christmas paper at the craft store and for $9.99 I got 180 12 x 12 sheets to split with a friend. I happen to have decorative edge scissors and used them to cut strips. I let the kids pick the next strip and I would glue it and they would stick it.

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Submitted by Andrea:

I found cone shape Styrofoam at the dollar store and bought felt for a dollar a sheet with self adhesive on the back. You can decorate your tree with almost anything. We (my 2 year old boys and I) started out with packages of foam stickers. We also tried pom poms but they would not stay no matter how long I held them in place. I ended up giving them ribbon and then them wrapped it. But you can use buttons, glitter, stickers, sequins, gems…. They helped pick out sticks from the yard as the trunk and rocks to help weight it down. I had old tins we put them in but you can wrap Christmas paper around any kind of box as a pot. They remind me of Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree but there is something whimsical about them and I really like them.

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Submitted by Andrea:

My kids love to finger paint so I knew at least one holiday project would be all bout the finger paint. I found these cardboard star shapes for $1.00 at Michael’s Craft Store. There are 4 in each package. I just let my kids do there thing and then when they dried I cut out a picture of them and glued it in the middle.

This post shows how we painted beads to look like mini eggs, surrounded it with “nest” and nestled it all inside a bottlecap. The school children will sell these as magnets and pushpins at their craft fair to help support their field trip fund. This is my second submission…the first was beaded ornaments and pillowboxes.
Thank you, this is fun!!
Lisa

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Welcome to Saving The Family Money. My name is Karen and this site is where I share my passion for couponing. I love passing along the deals to help your family save too. I’ve been married to my best friend for over 17 years and we have two wonderful children, a 13 year old boy and a 10 year old girl. We enjoy saving money on everyday essentials so we can splurge on the fun stuff! Join us and let’s save money together.